US2777621A

US2777621A - Garment hanger

Info

Publication number: US2777621A
Application number: US464304A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ralph P Murray
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1954-10-25
Filing date: 1954-10-25
Publication date: 1957-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 1974-01-15

Description

Filed Oct. 25, 1954 INVENTOR. 244 P MU/Q/P/I Y ATTORNEY nited rates 2,777,621 Patented Jan. 15, 1957 GARMENT HANGER Ralph P. Murray, Los Angeles, (Jal f.

Application October 25, 1954, Serial No. 464,394

4 Claims. (Cl. 223--94) This invention relates to a garment hanger and has for an object to provide a hanger that is collapsible or foldable.

Another object of the invention is to provide a foldable hanger that, when folded, can easily be slipped into the narrow neck of a garment and, then, expanded directly into garment-hanging position, thus obviating undesired stretching of the garment. Also, such a foldable hanger eliminates tearing and similar hazards.

A further object of the invention is to provide a foldable hanger in which the arms or shoulders are foldable toward and from the aris of the bail, thus enabling an inline folding of the arms facilitating introduction of the hanger into a garment having a small neck or a neck which it is not desired to stretch.

The invention also has for its object to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. However, the drawing merely shows and the following description merely describes one preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a foldable garment hanger embodying features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view as taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing another position of the foldable hanger.

The garment hanger that is illustrated comprises, gen erally, a central hood or frame 5, a pair of similar shoulders or arms 6 pivotally carried by said frame 5, a sliding arm-lock and releasing member 7, and a hanger bail 8 here shown as aflixed to member 7 and, therefore, movable therewith.

The hood or frame is shown as a sheet metal part forming sides 10 and respective upper and

lower walls

11 and 12, said sides and walls enclosing an opening 13 which, as seen in Fig. 2, is relatively narrow. Said frame is generally rectangular in form and is provided through the sides 10 with a slideway or slot 14- which extends through lower wall 12. Slot 14 is shown as bottom open but may be closed at both ends. The present slot facilitates assembly of member 7 if the latter is of integral form, as shown. In line with slot 14, the upper wall 11 is provided with a perforation 15. Because arms 6 are desired to be compactly folded, the lower side portions of the frame 5 are preferably removed as shown bringing the opposite ends 16 of lower wall 12 closer together. Said frame may be molded or cast as desired.

The shoulders or arms 6 comprise arcuately formed members, one end of each being connected to frame 5 as at pivots 17 that are here shown as pins extending through frame sides 10 but may be trunnions formed in the frame 10. Said ends of arms 6 are loosely fitted into frame opening 13 and the pivots thereof are uniformly spaced on either side of slot 14, Also, said pivoted ends of the arms 6 are each formed with angularly directed end faces 18.

The sliding member 7 is here shown as an integral element of wood, metal or plastic although the same may be fabricated of three interfitting portions that reside between sides 10 and outside both said sides. The member 7, as shown, has a central cam or wedge part 19 between side walls 10, and outer button parts 20 separated from cam part 19 by slits 21 which define slide parts 22. The latter interconnect the

parts

19 and 20 and slide in slot 14.

The button parts 20 may be round, as shown, or any desired shape. Cam part 19 may have a rounded lower portion. Its upper portion, however, is formed to have opposite sloping faces 23 that cooperate with end faces 18 of arms 6 (Fig. 3) to hold the arms oppositely extended. Said faces 23 are preferably upwardly sloped toward each other.

Member 7 may be separate from bail 8, in which case the latter may be afixed to wall 11 of the frame. Thus, member 7 may be slid between the arm locking position of Fig. 3 and the released position of Fig. 4 independently of said ball. Naturally, the weight of arms 6 will create a force on the cam part 19 of member 7 holding the latter in arm locking position.

By mounting the bail on member 7, as shown, and extending said bail through perforation 15, hanging of the bail will create an upward force on member 7 opposite to the gravitational pull on the other parts of the hanger. Consequently, the arms 6 remain firmly locked in garment-supporting position. Only by pushing up relatively on frame 5 so as to move the arm pivots 17 up relative to the cam part 19, will the arms be freed to fold downward to the dot-dash position of Fig. 1. Conversely, the arms are spread by a downward push on said frame, the cam part forcing the arms out on their pivots until engagement is achieved between arm faces 18 and cam faces 23. By extending faces 18 beyond the cam faces 23, as at 24, and into engagement with the mentioned rounded portion of cam part 19, an effective lock is obtained that obviates accidental release of the arms.

It will be noted that, except as above described, the bail S is conventional. Also, the arms 6 are coplanar and move in a common plane on pivots transverse to said plane. Also, the arm movement is toward and from the axis of the bail between them.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is now contemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is, therefore, not desired to restrict the invention to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A garment hanger comprising a frame provided with opposite spaced sides and having a slideway comprising aligned slots formed in the sides, a pair of garment-hanging arms having their adjacent ends disposed between the frame sides, but having the ends of each arm removed from each other, said arms being held within the frame by connections comprising pins extending through the sides of the frame and through the ends of each arm, said connections forming a pivot for each arm, the arms being movable on said pivots between a spread position e raeai for supporting a garment and a folded position with their outer ends adjacent, a hanger bail having oneend extending into the frame in the space between the sides thereof and between the arm pivots, and a slide member engaged in said slideway and fixedly connected to' said end of the bail to hold the latter non-rotationally, said member and bail being movable together, said pivoted ends of the arms, when the arms are folded, being in the path of movement of the slide member and movable thereby to spread position.

2. A garment hanger comprising a frame provided with opposite spaced sides and having a slideway comprising aligned slots formed in the sides, a pairof garment-hanging arms having their adjacent ends disposed between the frame sides, but having the ends of each and removed from each other, said arms being held Within the frame by connections comprising pins extending through the sides of the frame and through the ends of each arm, said connections forming a pivot for each arm, the arms being movable on said pivots between a spread position for supporting a garment and ,a folded position with their outerends adjacent, a hanger bailhaving one end extending into the frame in the space between the sides thereof and between the arm pivots, a slide member engaged in said slideway and fixedly connected to said end of the bail to hold the latter non-rotationally, said member and bail being movable together, said pivoted ends of the arms,

4 when the arms are folded, being in the path of movement of the slide member and movable thereby to spread position, opposite cam faces on said slide member, and end faces on the. pivoted ends of the arms to engage the cam I faces, when the slide member is moved in the slots in a direction to spread the arms, to hold said arms in spread garment-supporting position. r

3. A garment hangerpaccording to claim 2: 'the cam faces on the slide member diverging outwardly from the' top downwardly, and the mentioned faceston the pivoted ends of the arms being disposed at angles to flatly engage the slide member faces, when the arms are spread.

4. A garment hanger according to claim 2: the mentioned slots'being open at the bottom, the frame being provided with bottom walls on each side of the slot to connect the sides of the frame, and said bottom walls engaging the slide member to limit its lower position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 395,884 Donaldson u 'Ian. 8, 1889 959,687 Altermatt May ,31, 1910 964,072 Watanabe July 12 1910 1,066,170 Wesner July 1, 1913 2,577,854 Marbit Dec. 11,1951